“Domestic violence is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault and/or other abusive behavior perpetrated by an intimate partner against another. It is an epidemic affecting individuals in every community, regardless of age, economic status, race, religion, nationality or educational background. Violence against women is often accompanied by emotionally abusive and controlling behavior, and thus is part of a systematic pattern of dominance and control. Domestic violence results in physical injury, psychological trauma and sometimes death. The consequences of domestic violence can cross generations and truly last a lifetime.”— The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

In the past six weeks, two women from our corner of Michigan have been killed and a third appears to have been kidnapped and is believed dead, and there is evidence that domestic violence may have played a role in all three cases.

— On April 8, 26-year-old Jenny Bickings was shot in the head in Texas Township by her boyfriend of five years, Michael Cowling, 40, of Kalamazoo. He then killed himself.

— On April 26, Venus Stewart, 32, appears to have been abducted from her parents’ home in Colon Township. Records and interviews show that her marriage to Douglas Stewart, 29, was troubled and that she had taken their children and moved back to West Michigan from Virginia in recent months to be away from her husband. She has not been found — authorities believe she may be dead — and he is the only “person of interest” in the case. He has not been charged.

— On May 22, Courtney Delano, 19, was shot and killed outside an apartment complex in Portage. Her boyfriend, Rollon Marko, 26, was arraigned Monday in her death, and family members of the dead young woman say they tried to protect her from him and urged her to stay away from him. She was several months pregnant when she died.

We won’t comment on the specifics of these cases because law enforcement officers and the court system still have a job to do before anyone can say with certainty what all the facts are. But here’s what we can say, courtesy of The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and a mountain of reports and research on domestic violence in America:

— One in four women will suffer domestic violence at some point in her life.

— Approximately 1.3 million women are physically assaulted by an intimate partner each year.

— Of those who experience domestic violence, 85 percent are women.

— Police records suggest one third of female homicide victims are killed by an intimate partner.

— Between 30 percent and 60 percent of the perpetrators of violence against intimate partners also abuse children in the home.

— Most domestic violence cases are unreported.

Those are staggering statistics, but there is little reason to doubt they are correct. Rather, because domestic violence frequently goes unreported, the figures may be worse.

Sadly, even when the victims of abuse try to do the right things — leave the abuser, report abuse, seek protection — they can still lose their lives. Abusers, who sometimes are driven to stalk and control their partners, can be lethal if that is their intent.

No matter who you are, the best thing you can do is not get deep into a relationship that is abusive, not at 15, not at 20, not at 30 or ever. Because here are two more statistics, also from The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, that you should know:

— Witnessing violence between parents or caretakers is the primary risk factor in handing down violent behavior to the next generation.

— Boys who have witnessed such violence then become twice as likely to abuse their partners and children later in life.

For the sake of our children and our grandchildren, we can’t let them become part of the cycle of domestic violence.